Tenketsu
by AlmostElectric
Summary: 361 days, but he's nowhere. SasuFemNaru
1. Day 1

**A/N: I'll be keeping these notes out of the story as much as possible to avoid clogging up the chapters. This is just a screw-around side story, but I hope you like it. This idea has been cooking in my head for a while. Enjoy.**

**This disclaimer applies to the entirety of this story. I do not own Naruto, the characters, the scenarios... I don't own the franchise. I'm just playing with them for my own fun, with no intention of making profit.**

* * *

_Tenketsu: Day 1_

* * *

The sun peeked over the Hokage mountain like a child over a fence. Or, like Konohamaru, over those crappy fence disguises he always used to use. Naruto wrinkled her nose.

_'In memory of Uchiha Sasuke'_

Her fingers traced the script. She hated this memorial stone more than anything.

No, that wasn't strictly true. Naurto definitely hated things more than some stupid stone-

"G-Good morning, Naruto-san."

She turned around, and smiled brightly, hand still resting on the fresh engravings. "Hinata!" Naruto grinned. "What's up?"

The girl shuffled on her feet, cheeks dusted a light pink, but her gaze remained steady and level with Naruto's. Hinata's nervousness was rapidly becoming less prominent, and as she'd told Naruto, she had even mustered the strength to speak out against the Branch family policies.

It was an unwelcome sensation, the feeling of ageing. They weren't even that old – but it made her feel uneasy. Everything was slipping through her fingers like thin, old sand.

"Hokage-sama wants to see you. I-I came because I thought I might have found you here."

Naruto's smile faltered. _'Because I'm here everyday?' _"I see. I'll be there soon." She turned back to the stone, smile now twisted into a wistful curl. "Thanks, Hinata."

She heard Hinata step forward. "Ah... Naruto-san, I..."

Naruto turned her head curiously to the girl, and Hinata faltered in her steps.

"I'm..." Hinata took a deep breath. "Naruto-san, I was the... I've been seeing... something up with your ch-chakra system recently. So I informed Hokage-sama... I-I think this is what this is about."

The Uzumaki felt her heart sink slightly. "What looks, uh- wrong with it?"

Hinata looked down for a moment, closing her eyes. "I'm..." she began, taking a deep breath. "It's... strange. Really, really, strange..."

Personally, Naruto found it stranger that even beneath those closed eyes, Hinata could still see her. Through her own eyelids, and through Naruto's muscle, flesh and bones – to something else beneath.

Hinata wound her hands up behind her back nervously, before opening her eyes. Her expression was smiling, but the uncertainty was obvious. "I'm sure it'll be f-fine, Naruto-san."

_'Comforting.'_ Naruto nodded, smiling widely. "Thanks, Hinata. I'll be there soon, I've just got some-"

* * *

_"Where the fuck is he!? Everyone's- and he-!"_

* * *

Naruto coughed, the noise strained and choked. Her smile resumed quickly. "-some stuff to do. I'll see Obaa-chan in a minute."

Hinata nodded politely, her smile genuine but rushed and her polite, hands-folded motions forced. Sometimes Naruto wanted to tell her that she could "loosen up, you know?", but it was a half-hearted thought. Those kind of mannerisms were essential to being in a stuck-up clan like the Hyuugas. The girl bade Naruto goodbye, and Naruto was left staring at engraved black marble.

The Uchiha compound was gone, with Pain's destruction of Konoha. Naruto had no idea how Sasuke would have felt about the affair, but Tsunade had taken the land and turned it into a huge and wondrous meadow. Little saplings they had planted had blossomed into little trees over the past year; Sakura had insisted on trees that produced berries, and Naruto couldn't fault her. The meadow was filled with tiny birds, and an array of colour. No one trimmed the grass, and it had grown admirably unruly and free.

The Uzumaki loved that, and she had insisted on a small cobble footpath, and a bench.

Naruto had not, however, known about the memorial they had been building, and as soon as she'd found out, she'd ran into the fields and demanded the builders stop. They did, without question, but the large black marble engraved stone remained, along with the half built walls around it. It was huge and cut into a strange, gem like shape.

It gave the memorial a rugged look; like it was a thousand years old, and the walls had crumbled. But the architecture was fresh, and dust still lingered in the crooks of the stone from the engraving.

Everyday she came here, but it was not because she was remembering Sasuke; like she _needed _to. It was all such a joke, and Naruto wished that more people would come into the meadows. They were so beautiful, wild and free, fenced off only for the sake of preventing ivy encroaching onto the pavement. Some people came; Sakura often did, and even Kakashi occasionally came in and sat on the lone bench to read. He and Naruto had come together, once.

But no one but them visited. Not a soul, because it was disrespectful, in memory of a man they'd not known. She hated it, Naruto hated every single thing about this shitty memorial, this stone that had been engraved and placed without her permission at all. Naruto knew why they'd done it without her, because they knew that she wasn't as _stupid_ as them.

She hated this stone, and she hated these half-built walls that made it seem as though the Uchihas were falling apart once again. The Uchiha compound had fallen into disuse, and now it appeared just the same. Naruto hated the walls, and Naruto hated this stupid memorial that everyone but her seemed to love. They were all ridiculous, and no matter what, Naruto would not stop hating it.

She hated this memorial, because Sasuke was not dead.

* * *

"Tsunade-obaa-chan!" Naruto busted the door open with her right foot, hands still in her pockets. No one was stood guard by Tsunade, and it irked her. Not Shizune, nor an ANBU guard. That fact took residence in the pit of her stomach, in the form of a dead weight, pulling at her stomach lining and heart and dragging her down to the floor feelings-first.

"Brat. Sit down." Tsunade's expression was odd, and made Naruto awkwardly shift from one foot to the other. It made her nervous, and that was rare.

Naruto didn't like the idea of 'sitting down', either.

"I think I'll just stand up, thanks!" Naruto grinned, taking her hands out of her pockets to hook them behind her head. Her smile was making her cheeks hurt, but she didn't stop.

The Hokage gave her a once over with an expression that was exasperated and conflicted. Tsunade looked stranger when she was conflicted, smooth skin wound into tiny knots and lips purse. Everything about her became colder, tighter. It was as though the buxom woman were facing down a formidable enemy.

Very suddenly, and very strongly, Naruto suddenly wanted to run.

"If you say so, kid."

Ten minutes later, Naruto left the room, steady walking, smiling brightly, unfaltering and happy. Because that was all she wanted to be, all that she'd ever be, and if she even let herself care - just for one second -

"Naruto!"

_'361 tenketsu. 361 days.'_

-at long last, Naruto broke into a run.


	2. Day 2

**AN: I like this chapter better. Enjoy.**

* * *

_Tenketsu: Day 2_

* * *

Kiba had always had a respectful admiration for Naruto's ability to throw back a drink.

On the other hand, he'd rather die than admit that she had twice his tolerance. He put it down to the beast in her stomach (he probably had to have some too!), but sometimes, he really didn't know. She was strong, and she probably had twice his muscle. And hey, if alcohol tolerance had anything to do with chakra, she could bulldoze him in that respect.

Naruto never made fun of him for it. She probably knew it was a freakish ability, and they still had drinking contests. Kiba had quickly realised that no one ever won drinking contests, anyway. Everyone finished the drinks; the only winner was the lone sober spectator, and that only became obvious the next morning.

"Have you heard?"

Naruto didn't turn her head, but flicked her gaze to the side whilst tipping a cup of sake into her mouth. Kiba took it as an acknowledgement, and continued.

"Since the alliance and all that, they've started importing a beverage from up north of Kumo called vodka. It's literally pure alcohol, and water." Kiba looked excitedly at Naruto. She snorted, wiping her mouth and slamming the cup onto the counter.

"Sounds delicious," she said dryly, tracing the rim of the cup with her finger.

"Hey, that's the best bit!" Kiba said, grinning. "Tastes like nothing, so you can mix it with anything. Might even be enough to get you drunk."

She laughed, but inwardly snorted. She wasn't a skeptic, but it was unlikely any drink was going to be getting her drunk any time soon.

"Oi!" Kiba motioned for the bartender, and he drew up to their end of the counter. The Inuzuka grinned widely. "Got any of that new stuff from Kumo?"

The man placed an elbow on the counter, and laughed. "Yeah. You'll be having it mixed, won't ya? Stuff's twice the strength of sake. You gonna be giving that to girlie over here?"

Naruto stopped herself from laughing in his face, and Kiba looked the same. The boy laughed awkwardly. "She can take it. Let's have it unmixed, old man!"

The bartender's face turned sour, pouring the liquid from a glass bottle whilst grumbling about being called 'an old man! Hmph. Kids these days-'

Two tall glasses, unlike the little cups for sake, slid across the counter, filled to the brim with something that could pass for water if it were not for the unforgivably burning stench that was wafting over from the liquid. It smelled like nail varnish, to Naruto, and with the Inuzuka's traditionally apt sense of smell, she could only imagine how bad it smelled to him.

True to her thoughts, she turned to the Kiba only to find him crinkling his nose. "No time to think," he decided. "3 seconds, we down it! You ready, Uzumaki?"

Naruto smirked, and Kiba returned it, clasping his glass.

"3, 2, 1-"

They both drank it in 2 seconds flat.

"I so finished before you!" Kiba declared, pointing a finger at Naruto that almost poked her eye out.

"Goddamn it, Kiba! Will you fucking be more goddamn carefu-"

"Hasn't hit me yet. Another round, boss!"

Naruto had a very bad feeling. If she'd had a glass that tall of sake, even she might have felt the effects slightly. And this was twice the percentage.

"Kiba, come on-"

He ordered two more rounds, and then, Kiba reached that stage of very, very drunk where he was quiet and pensive. Naruto had seen it many times – and now, she was beginning to feel quite drunk herself; nowhere near the extent that he was, but she was hazy, strange, more truthful than she should have been.

"Naruto?"

She nodded. "Kiba?"

"I'm... you know, honestly... I don't think Sasuke's dead either." His words were slurring, but Naruto understood them well enough.

Naruto's eyebrows rose, and then she smiled. It was a small smile, but more genuine than any smile she'd given anyone in months. "I'm glad."

"I just... ya know... everyone's given up on him. He just... went missing... but I don't think he's the sort to just die like that..." Kiba stretched, and yawned, smiling at Naruto. "I'm... hah. Fuckin' Uchiha Sasuke would have a majestic death, and every girl ever would turn up at his funeral..."

"Man, if it makes you feel any better, I wouldn't turn up."

Kiba laughed. "Thanks, Naruto."

_'That's the worst lie I've ever heard from you. You'd be the one dropping flowers on the coffin.'_

"Hey, Kiba?"

The Inuzuka turned his head, eyelids lazily half-lidded. "What?"

"Am I stupid, for thinking Sasuke's alive?"

_ 'Yes. Yes. Please let him go.'_ "No... like I just said, I agree," Kiba whined. But he knew what Naruto meant; whereas he just had an instinct that some guy with a constantly badass, dramatic life wouldn't burn out like a light bulb, Naruto well and truly believed that her best friend was alive, somewhere.

Because the reality was, people did burn out just like light bulbs, in events both quick and pathetic in comparison to their exciting, drawn-out lives.

"You know what I mean, Kiba." Her eyes were glazed over, like her mind was elsewhere. Kiba hated that more than anything; that lost look that she got when she was thinking about him. He hated him, because if Sasuke was alive, then what did that even mean?

It just meant that Sasuke had abandoned Konoha, had abandoned the world, without a word to Naruto, or anyone at all. But that was how it was; Kiba knew that if the Uchiha had found anyone worthwhile in Konoha, it was Naruto.

He'd known. Sasuke had never cared about anyone, never acknowledged anyone – that was what it was. He'd never bothered to get annoyed at anyone, but bit by bit, Sasuke began to spare some time to get angry at Naruto. They'd become fierce rivals, and there had come a time when Kiba had seen it in Sasuke's eyes. Once. Just once.

Kiba had suspected something of the like since they were younger, but amidst the alliance, Sasuke and Naruto had fought fantastically side by side, as though they had been born to fight beside one another their whole lives. And whilst Naruto was preoccupied, Sasuke had looked at her. A split second, a wistfulness in the eyes, in the heart-

And the Inuzuka had seen it. Sasuke, as dead as he was inside or out, had loved Naruto.

In his heart of hearts, Kiba knew the Uchiha was dead. He would have come home – reluctantly, pulled by the arm, hardly welcomed but still a true hero. He would have come home to Naruto, be it unwillingly or not. If Uchiha Sasuke would have done anything, the last thing he would have done would be fading into obscurity.

"You are." The words hurt Kiba's lips as he said them, like a boiling poison that burned away his flesh.

She leaned forward, placing her head face down in her folded arms. "I can't explain it to you, Kiba. He's just... not dead." Her voice was muffled beneath her flesh.

Kiba nodded, even though she couldn't see it. "You're better at that kinda thing than me."

Naruto turned her head to the side, taking a deep breath. She was facing Kiba, and her wistful expression made his heart ache. Her voice was a whisper. "Why'd you think he didn't come home?"

_'Because he's dead.' _"Dunno. Probably doing a... brooding tour?"

"The hell's a brooding tour?"

"Well, like, he always used to... sit in the academy, lookin' miserable... everyday, and-"

"I know what brooding is!" She slapped him on the back of his head. "What's a brooding tour?"

"Dunno... it's uh, when a ninja goes and... broods in the five shinobi nations. Or somethin'."

Naruto laughed, and the noise made Kiba relax.

"You're such a fuckin' idiot, Kiba."

"Hey, I resent that!"

The subject took a lighter turn, and Naruto's heart felt lighter too. She called for another glass, and Kiba had demanded one too, but she'd smacked the back of his hand like a mother.

"You're already struggling to form sentences. Next thing you know, you'll be shitting and throwing up like a baby."

Kiba had grumbled angrily. "You're like a sponge. An alcohol sponge."

The glass finally came, and although the bartender had sent her a few suspicious looks (_'Where the hell is that alcohol even going?'_), she grabbed the glass and downed it in 2 seconds, as she had with all of her drinks.

And then her hand had a spasm – contracting so hard, and then relaxing just as suddenly, and the glass clattered with a smash to the floor.

Kiba was suddenly aware, sitting up and looking at Naruto and her hand which was still convulsing erratically, and he reached over and grabbed her, because she really did look like she was going to fall off that stool and into that glass and straight past it, falling into the earth until Kiba couldn't see her in that endless pit.

The bartender rushed over, expression angry. "Goddamn drunks, smashing everything to bits-"

"I'm not drunk!" Naruto bit back furiously, before correcting herself. "At least- not enough to smash that – argh! Fuck you! I'm fucking- fuck this-"

In a split second, she was rushing out of the bar, everyone turning to look at the shadow of colour that she left behind. With an intelligible apology to the bartender, Kiba launched himself off his stool, losing his balance for a split second and hearing the crunch of glass beneath his feet. He ran.

The night of Konoha wasn't Kiba's favourite time at all, but when he left the bar, the glow almost left him transfixed. The reddish orange glow of lamps, and the mouldy white glow of the few 24h convenience shops was strange, odd, and in the shadows that weren't stained by the strange mix, you could detect the faint kiss of starlight and the cold white of the moonlight.

He shook his head, and ran after Naruto. Her path was annoyingly strange, and he could sense that she just wanted him to go away; even when she became far ahead, his sense of smell aided his search. Naruto was winding her path through awkward side streets, and although Kiba thought she'd be bound to end up in a dead-end sometime, amazingly, she didn't. He supposed she'd have experience with hiding in the alleys of Konoha – even if they were different now – from all the pranks she used to pull.

Kiba heard her crash to the ground, the sound of her body hitting the ground soft compared to the bin she hit on the way down, the metal clanging so loud it echoed through the alley and made his ears ring.

As the Inuzuka reached her, he realised she was crying, and felt awful for having followed her. He knew she hated being seen like this, because he hated being seen like this. And they were both way, way too similar.

Kiba ignored her tears. He did not feel sorry for her, but he offered his hand, instead. Naruto shook her head, eyes glistening with tears.

"Kiba." She was whispering, and for some stupid reason, he whispered too.

"What?"

She snorted at him, the noise hoarse and sad. Naruto bit her lip. "I... can you carry me home?"

For a moment, Kiba felt a pang of something that wasn't_ his _emotion to feel. In an alleyway that smelt like piss with an injured and crying Naruto, her face was so striking and beautiful in that moonlight and he felt like such an ass for noticing, but sometimes he couldn't help but wonder-

"Okay."

-what it would have been like if she'd loved_ him_, instead.

* * *

"I'm sorry. I should be the one taking you home."

Kiba shook his head, and though his expression was knotted with worry, he knew she'd hate it if he dared worry about her or coddle her like a kid, so even in his drunken state, he said nothing at all-

"Kiba."

"What?" They were whispering again.

From her position lying down on her bed, she pulled Kiba into a hug, one hand slightly more limp. "I'll tell you next time we go out. Okay?"

"Promise?" Kiba didn't know why his tone sounded so pathetic, and needy, because he goddamn was_ not-_

Naruto laughed, and she pulled back from the hug long enough to give him a smile. Her eyes were shining. "I promise. Now stop being such a wimp and get home before you pass out." She pushed at his shoulders jokingly, but one hand was so much weaker than the other and Kiba worried again.

His forehead felt warm with her kiss, and Kiba was overcome with the scent of forest and lillies as her neck hovered in front of his face.

Naruto gave him a final, weak smile. "Night, Kiba."

Kiba choked back words as he smiled, tight-lipped, and left.

* * *

She woke up slowly, and was promptly crushed by a tide of nausea.

Naruto swung her legs out of bed and limped to the bathroom, her right foot failing her as she did. She dragged it along the floor, clasping onto various items of furniture as a hold, then the doorway, and then the porcelain of the toilet bowl-

She threw up violently, the pressure of having something pulled up her airway pulling on skull.

After Naruto had emptied out her stomach, she rolled over onto the floor, the cold tiles caressing her skin like a cold lover. It was so hot – she peeled off her clothing and lay on her back, sweat forming on her forehead. The floor was as cold and comforting as a shallow pond.

"Naruto?"

Kiba's voice was loud, and she groaned.

For a moment, Naruto writhed on the floor, before holding onto the door handle awkwardly to pull herself up – the wood creaked, and for a second Naruto thought she might pull the metal right out of the door.

She pulled herself up, and her foot felt – well, bearable. It would do to stand on, but it certainly wasn't pulling it's own weight, motion wise. Naruto frowned, but then opened the door.

"My mother made you some –"

Kiba stopped, blushing furiously, and Naruto blinked.

"What?"

He spluttered. "Get some clothes on, Naruto!"

She huffed, yawning and stretching, and waved a hand at Kiba, as though to brush off his words. "Yeah, whatever, Kiba. I'm still wearing my bra and stuff... don't guys get naked in front of each other, like, all the time?"

"It's different!"

Naruto looked bored, blinking at Kiba. "What did you even come around for?"

"My mother, uh, she- she made you some hangover cure. It's really good, cleared mine up a lot..."

The blonde snorted at him, poking him in the forehead with a grin. "Not completely, eh? You did drink a lot last night!"

"Hey, I didn't have a clue about how strong that new stuff was!"

"Then why'd you drink it, stupid?"

"That's-! Just 'cause you're a tank!"

Naruto snickered, and motioned Kiba in. "Come on. Is that stuff like, tea leaves and shit?"

"Yeah. Tea leaves and shit."

"You know what I meant!"

Kiba sighed, nodding and passing her the small bag. Naruto whistled as she went, even with that heavy limp in her step, and she filled a teapot and set it on the stove, grabbing a mug. Kiba sat down at her table, desperately trying not to look at her long legs that lead up to-

"What you up to today, then?" Naruto asked, the question half-hearted as scoured the cupboards.

"Nothing. Don't think, anyway. I have a mission soon, but everyone's out of town. Negotiations, reconstruction's not done either..."

The girl was quiet, the only noise in the kitchen the birds outside the window and the clanking of cupboards and porcelain as Naruto made tea.

That was what annoyed Kiba about Naruto. She was so blatantly boyish and unfeminine, but her body wasn't. And those two things didn't work together, especially not now. Kiba was trying his very best not to look, but all she was wearing was her blue underwear, and-

"Kiba?"

He snapped out of his reverie. "Uh- yeah?"

She was stirring the tea, adding milk and an unhealthy amount of sugar. She hadn't turned to face him, instead staring out of the window with a far away look in her eyes.

"If you could die-"

"-oi! Naruto, that's-"

"If you could die," she began again, "by terminal illness, or by... just dying out on a mission, or y'know, just... randomly, which would you rather?"

The Inuzuka hated thinking about that.

"Naruto, you know I-"

"I'm asking you," she whispered.

The words died on his lips. He frowned. "...a mix, probably. 'Cause, you die out on a mission, your family doesn't know you love 'em... that kinda stuff. But terminal illness... you get a chance to say goodbye, but everyone watches you suffer for... hey, how long are we talking?"

Naruto bit her lip. "About a year."

"So, they watch you die for a year. You get sicker, and sicker... I guess... maybe it'd be the spontaneous death. So no one remembers me all weak and dying and stuff."

"Gotta be a man, even in death, Kiba?"

"Hey-!"

"Kiba- you know how I said I'd tell you when we next went out...?"

He nodded – this whole thing was, no, he shouldn't assume, but he could only hope-

Naruto sat down next to him, on an uncomfortable wooden chair, sipping the tea. It smelled strong, and her eyes were watering from the vapour.

Her voice had lowered to a whisper. "I'm not... Kiba, my tenketsu are shutting down. I don't know why, or how – but everyday, one tenketsu shuts off."

Kiba had spent years with Hinata at his side. There were 361 tenketsu in the body. If they shut once a day, that would take... almost a year.

And he knew what happened when the tenketsu above the heart shut off.

"So yesterday-"

"One in my hand, and then one in my foot. It's why I tripped over." She looked at the table, raking a hand through her hair with a forced smile. "2 down, 359 to go."

"You- don't say it like that!"

Kiba knew he didn't have the _right_ to be angry-

"Kiba, come on- I just-"

"No! No- so you _knew_ yesterday? The hell- why didn't you _tell _me?!"

Naruto's expression was desperate and tearful, but Kiba refused to look at her.

"Kiba, I couldn't – I just wanted to be_ with _you! You're my best friend, and I-"

"Am I really your best friend if you don't tell me shit like that!? It's fucking _important_, and I-"

"Kiba, please!"

Kiba's posture, voice, everything – it became frighteningly cold, and he stood up, the chair pushing back and toppling over. "Don't talk to me again, Uzumaki."

And he left.

In her haste, Naruto had tried to run after him, tried to grab him, but her foot had trembled and she collapsed, falling and crashing into the table, her mug of tea falling smashing _scalding _her.

Naruto knew Kiba had heard. She heard him walking away.

She let the hot liquid burn her skin. Naruto rolled over, eyes stinging with tears and the smell of the tea, shards of porcelain digging into her back.

* * *

After cleaning her cuts and showering, Naruto swept up the porcelain, wiped up the liquid, repositioned the table and chairs, and tried to pretend nothing had happened. The smell of strong herbs lingered when she passed the table.


	3. Day 3

**A/N: Something is up with my goddamn linebreaks. Enjoy anyway.**

_Tenketsu: Day 3_

* * *

The third day, Naruto's back was smooth and wound-free.

The smell hadn't gone. She spent her day at the library, researching tenketsu, and she half-heartedly wished she had access to the Hyuuga archives. Of course, if she asked Hinata...

_'-how could I ever tell Hinata that?'_

And Neji, of course- Neji was dead.

After borrowing a couple of books about the anatomy of it all, Naruto headed off to think. Her walking was mindless, consistent, and generally unthinking; after what seemed like seconds, she stood in the Uchiha meadow, insects buzzing at her bare ankles and birds rustling in the trees. They weren't singing; the sun was setting, but it wasn't a romantic view. As per usual, the sunset was concealed by the mass of trees, glaring rays of orange beaming through the gaps.

That said, the sunrise was always nice there; it was on the clearer, emptier side, and she could see it. The sunrise was Naruto's personal favourite, because then she could hear the birds. They were loud and obnoxious and so so happy.

"No clouds today, huh?"

She didn't even turn to look at Shikamaru. "There were clouds in the morning."

"I see." The smell of smoke proliferated through the meadow, burning and cancer savaging the nature and beauty with a choke hold.

But the more Naruto thought about it, the more she thought, _'hey, maybe Sasuke would like that.' _Because it wasn't like Sasuke would ever like something as pretentious as a meadow, but that didn't even matter, because she did and he wasn't here and until he got here she was going to pick.

Naruto did love the meadow. It was wild and free and everything Sasuke never was.

"Kiba told me-"

She turned around fast, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists. "As if he had the right to tell you _anything!_" she snarled.

Shikamaru shrugged, pulling on his cigarette. His expression was lazy, but Naruto could see the cogs turning, the sharp attentiveness in his gaze. "I suppose not," he sighed.

The field was quiet for a moment then, Naruto seething and bouncing on the balls of her feet as the trees whispered.

"I suppose it wasn't his place," Shikamaru continued, letting out a final plume of tobacco smoke. He dropped the butt and ground it into the soil, smouldering embers hissing beneath his shoe. "When do you plan on telling everyone?"

"Don't tell me what to do."

"So you don't?"

"I don't _care, _Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru's tone was becoming sharper by the minute, angrier. "You think you have the right to hide something like this from your friends? After_ everything?_ You weren't going to tell _anyone?_"

Naruto lunged forward and sent Shikamaru reeling with a resounding slap.

Shikamaru knew he could have caught her wrist. He could have broke it. She knew it too. Maybe she was hoping he would stop her, but he didn't – maybe he deserved it. He wasn't that kind of guy – Shikamaru had never been the kind of guy who riled people up. He was usually so calm and collected, and-

He hated this. Shikamaru didn't want her to die, but now she was dying and she hadn't told him and worse she hadn't even been _going _to. Maybe it wasn't anything personal – but it felt like it.

"Go home, Shikamaru." Her tone was so sad. He felt sad too.


	4. Day 4

**A/N: Thanks for being great readers.**

Tenketsu: Day 4

* * *

Naruto awoke feeling heavy.

She rolled out of bed, landing on various uncomfortable items – the worst being the floor – and she stumbled to the kitchen and set water on the stove to boil.

Naruto leaned on her left hand, staring into space. It boiled too fast, the water bubbling over the rim of the pot and onto the stove below. A spitting drop of water landed on her hand, and she jolted backwards so hard her back smacked into the sink.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Her eyes narrowed, and she clutched her spinning head with both hands.

Pulling her arms down to clench them at her sides, Naruto stormed and pulled her clock off the wall with a delicacy that cracked the plastic. She brought the item to the forefront of her vision.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

After every movement it quivered. It never stopped moving. It wouldn't, until the battery ran out. Naruto wondered about the cogs that she could not see. They moved in sync, constantly turning to produce seconds. Were they accurate? Did anyone care?

Would anybody care about this one, stupid clock and how its innards turned, if they turned right, did they care about how the material of the hands meant they shook after every movement? How it didn't have a seconds hand?

Naruto cracked the glass of the clock with her grip, but the time continued.

She brought her thumbs from her grip of each side, pressing them both down hard on the glass. It shattered, tiny shards stick into her thumb and scraping the flesh of her hand as she pressed the thumbs onto the face of the clock itself, past the hands, pressing harder-

It cracked, ripping to reveal the tiny metal workings, and as the shards of glass and plastic entered, they jarred, crackling until one and then all cogs came to a stop.

The hands finally stopped moving, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Like yesterday, Naruto did not feel a weakness in her limbs from a sudden loss of chakra. That meant the tenketsu she had lost were in her core, or perhaps her head.

That worried her a great deal more, and she contemplated visiting Hinata again, once again reaching the dire conclusion that she could never drop a bombshell like that onto Hinata without her heart breaking in turn.

As it turned out, she didn't have to, when Tsunade visited her alone with a large bag.

"Check up, kid. Strip off."

She did, taking her bra off with a hesitancy that Tsunade laughed at.

For ten minutes or so, the woman prodded at her, before standing straight. "Have you experienced any sudden lack of co-ordination? Anywhere in particular?"

Naruto nodded. "My hand and my foot."

"Only two?"

"Yeah. Didn't feel anything change yesterday or today. That was the first two days."

Tsunade nodded, stern look on her face as she moved Naruto's body this way and that way. After she'd finished her examination, she sat down – forcing Naruto to sit down this time, after she'd pulled her shirt back on. Tsunade ended up standing back up again to make them some tea; Naruto had offered, but Tsunade had silenced her with a glance.

The smell of the tea made Naruto feel like crying, but Tsunade's tea wasn't quite as strong, and the taste wasn't quite the same.

After they had sat down and sipped at their tea, Tsunade began explaining it to Naruto in a half-comprehensive jargon. "You've got the whole 361 days, at least. I reckon your heart will go last, because the chakra system is alike to the blood system in that it prioritises distribution. If the body has an oxygen deficiency, your body sends blood to the organs first and foremost."

Naruto gave her a blank look, and Tsunade shook her head, smiling weakly. "What I mean is, your heart isn't going to give out until the very end."

Naruto really didn't like that phrasing.

_ 'Your heart isn't going to give out until-'_

Because her heart _was_ going to give out, wasn't it?

Naruto's felt as though a heavy hand was pushing at the base of her head, and she looked into her tea. It wasn't very interesting, but she tried to pretend it was, creating a stormy ocean in her tea by cradling it in her palm and moving it in a regular, circular motion.

"I'm working on a cure."

Naruto blinked, stopping, but the ocean kept moving.

"I'm working on a cure," Tsunade repeated, "but it isn't quite taking. If we knew the source of the disease..."

_'But you _don't,_ do you? You _don't _know the source!'_

It took a second to realise that she'd cracked the teacup in her right hand.

Tsunade didn't say anything.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto said.

"Telling you what?"

"_This!_" Naruto said again, her voice becoming louder. "Why are you telling me all the great things you could be doing? You can't _do_ them! Can't you just shut up?!"

Tsunade didn't say anything at all.

Naruto found herself choking on her own breath, tears stinging her eyes. The teacup was intact, but cracked. She knew if she jostled it too much, it would probably break apart. She placed it down and left, the hand on the back of her head forcing her gaze to the floor the whole way out.

* * *

After spending the rest of the day in Konoha's library, in the missing-nin archives, Naruto returned home. Tsunade had not touched anything, and her teacup remained near-broken on the table.

She went to bed, the smell of tea only slight.


	5. Day 5

**A/N: Hmm. Apologies for delay. Bit of a whimsical chapter, this one. But I feel it's very "from the heart." Enjoy.**

* * *

Naruto went out and bought what she needed, but what she needed wasn't all that easy to pick or afford.

Changes of clothes. She bought a shady-looking black cloak (_'-so no-one tries to talk to me-'_), chakra suppressors for any sensors she might encounter, and a variety of foods. But naturally, food always ran out and Naruto didn't exactly have the money to live out there forever, so she brought her kunai.

Returning home, she considered making tea (-and yet the scent of it made her sick to her stomach-) before packing things in a black backpack, tying her hair back into a bun and looking forlornly at her everyday orange jumpsuit.

She held it this way and that, but something about it was entirely unconvincing. Did she want Sasuke to see her unchanged, after all this time?

Because she wasn't; not really.

After a moment of indecisiveness, Naruto took off her orange jumpsuit and dressed in a smooth black. She stuffed the jumpsuit jacket into her pack.

The more she looked around the apartment, the more things she put in. Naturally, Naruto took her purse Froggy with her; she also stashed in some mouthwash, fresh socks, and a notebook. After a scramble for a pen, Naruto decided that she would improvise.

Naruto almost hesitated before placing Sasuke's headband in her pack. The material slipped through her fingers like sand-

_ '-just like him-'_

-and she gritted her teeth, hooking the backpack about her shoulder and picking up her two potted plants. With only a single look back-

_ '-when _will_ I come back?'_

-Naruto closed the door, the wind making her eyes sting the moment she stepped outside.

* * *

"N-Naruto-san?"

Naruto smiled, waving awkwardly with her free hand (which quickly went to adjust her falling backpack). "Yo, Hinata. Sorry to... drop this on you all of a sudden, but, I'm gonna be doing-"

_'Let's go home, Sasuke...'_

She coughed, biting her lip. "-some travelling. It won't be for too long or anything, but my plants'll die if I just leave them at home, you get me?"

Hinata nodded, looking ethereal in the doorway of her home. Her yukata was a soft white, with weavings of lavender colour all about it. Naruto had always felt Hinata to be a gentle, almost-there being.

"Are you g-going to look for him?"

Naruto's heart sank a little. "For who?" she said.

"For Sasuke-kun," Hinata said, her hands pressed up against her buxom chest. They clenched, as though trying to keep her heart where it was.

Naruto laughed, rubbing the side of her head. Despite her laughter, she wasn't looking at Hinata. "Dunno. Might see him on the way, you know?"

_ 'If he's not dead.'_

Hinata felt like crying at how hollow Naruto looked at that very moment, but she took the plants from Naruto and clutched them to her chest, nodding. "I'll... take care of them. Please... come in for a while, before you go."

"Sure, Hinata."

Naruto stepped in to Hinata's home. It wasn't as lonely and empty as Naruto would have expected; the main compound within the Hyuuga district was large and empty and uniform, but within the speck of freedom that Hinata had found within a house of her own, there came beauty and comfort. It was traditionally uniform, but paintings of flowers and flowers themselves donned every room. It smelled fresh.

"I love it," Naruto whispered, running her hands over the petals of a potted marigold.

Hinata walked ahead of her, leading the way, and her hair swayed like a torn and free piece of silk. "I think I do too," she said.

At Hinata's request, Naruto sat on a plump, soft pillow, as she made them drinks. Naruto requested if it could be anything but tea.

The room wasn't windowless, and Hinata had placed one plant (Mr. Ukki) in the sunlight of the windowsill.

The drinks she brought in were some strange mix of honey and hot water.

"I drink it when I have a headache, so I made some for you, too," Hinata said. She seemed lost to Naruto.

They drank in silence, a single white rose petal floating gently on the surface of the water.

"Should I really be eating flowers?"

"I'm sure the flower is happy to give a petal to someone like you, Naruto-san."

The sun was casting light far beyond Mr. Ukki, now; onto the floor beyond, a burnt orange light shining onto Hinata's tatami floor.

Hinata placed the cup onto the table, putting her head in her hands.

"Hinata?"

"Did you know," she whispered.

Her hands were shaking, but her voice was defiantly strong, even in whisper.

"Did you know, I'm having a baby?"

Naruto blinked, smiling and leaning forward. "I thought your boobs looked bigger! Who's the father?"

Tears trailed out of Hinata's hands and down her wrists, and Naruto caught herself, leaning forward and capturing Hinata in her arms, the wet of her eyes brushing Naruto's neck for an instant.

"Naruto-san... it's arranged,_ everything_. Even this baby is just... j-just _planned..._ I'm marrying m-my cousin, Imada..."

Naruto had no idea what words would console Hinata, but the girl seemed to soothe just at Naruto's presence. The Hyuuga took a deep and shuddering breath against her.

"Naruto-san...?"

Naruto put her hands in Hinata's hair, but said nothing.

"I... I meant it. Every word..."

(_'...because, I love you, Naruto-san,'_ Hinata had said, bones broken but poised elegantly, as though she were not steps away from death, as though she were not coaxing the devil into slaughtering her very self there.)

(And so she had been destroyed before Naruto, like a petal in the jaws of death.)

"I-"

"So that's why," Hinata spoke over Naruto, for the first time in my life. "Before... before you go to him, I want you to stay here."

Her voice weakened.

"Just for a little while, okay?" Hinata whispered.

And Naruto and Hinata bound that day, not as lovers but as something else; Hinata leading the way with elegance and skin that was so white and flawless (_'Just like her!' _Naruto would think, hand trailing from waist to hip to somewhere unholy).

Her bones themselves curved like a piece of abstract art, and Naruto had never seen empty eyes that had held so much; Hinata was refined, muscles so precise and sure and nothing like the coarse and brash body of Naruto. But Hinata drank it, drank from Naruto, and Naruto drank from Hinata for the sake of wondering what love was really like, for the sake of bringing a glimpse of life into a dark hallway, and for the sake of kissing an angel before wandering down to hell.

For a moment, Naruto had wondered whether it was love, but no; Hinata knew too, the experience sexual and wholesome and entirely_ theirs _but nothing more than an exchange. Naruto had never seen anyone so different in her whole life; someone so petite and gentle and reserved but precise, her voice a gentle whisper that demanded and _took _every last drop from her. Hinata had a way about her that Naruto had never seen before; demanding, the imperative disguised as request.

(Or perhaps Naruto so desperately wanted to give what she could not give Hinata in words.)

(At least, not truthfully.)

The end of the day came all too quick, Hinata laying on the floor with her breasts splayed and a tentative hand on her stomach, the sweat on her brow just as perfect as everything she ever did. Her lips moved like colliding ocean waves.

"Naruto-san," she said, and it wasn't more a question than a request.

"Yeah?"

"Please come back soon," and her tears were just as beautiful as the eyes they came from.

Naruto hooked her hands into Hinata's.

"Yeah. I will. Promise."


	6. Day 6

**A/N: I'm uploading a little bundle of chapters. Because, I have to portray time accurately - especially in this story. So, they're short. Sorry if you thought this was some big chubby update. Hope you like it anyway!**

* * *

_Day 6_

* * *

Naruto left Konoha feeling as though she were lacking a goodbye.

There was no resistance at the gates; both Kotetsu and Izumo were preoccupied with something or other, but Izumo gave her a half-hearted wave whilst engrossed in some form of paperwork. He didn't wait to see her response, but she waved back anyway, shuffling the backpack on her shoulders.

It felt too similar to how Sasuke had not left her anything.

No one had come to give her a goodbye. Her disappearance was smooth, cold. Like his. She had successfully left Konoha, with barely a single person seeing her face.

But _no one_ had seen Sasuke's face.

* * *

_Naruto awoke to the invasive sensation of having air pushed down your throat._

_She clawed at the plastic strapped to her face, expression panicked – she could see Kiba, Sakura... Naruto was so happy to see them – where was she?_

_The air felt so horrible – Sakura's gentle hands removed her hands from the mask, shaking her head at Naruto's attempts to remove it, and Naruto tried to speak but simply choked on the air. Tears streamed from her eyes as she coughed._

_Sakura quickly unstrapped the mask from the back, and Naruto breathed in deeply of air that entered her lungs at her own volition. She smiled. Her head was spinning._

_The noise around her came into focus, bit by bit._

_"Naruto!" Kiba said, throwing his arms about her neck. "God, Naruto, you're finally_ awake...!_"_

_"Be gentle, Kiba!" Sakura scolded. "She's still got massive injury-"_

_She was in a tent. The murky brown material wavered in the small wind._

_Kiba smelled like soil, and himself. He pulled back to smile at her, and she smiled back. The movement hurt._

_"Wh..." Naruto began, but Sakura put her finger on her lips._

_"Don't talk," she said. "Madara is gone. You two managed it – whatever that was – but afterwards, you collapsed. You've been out for two days... we've sealed all of your broken limbs, but you're still tender everywhere. Your chakra was near gone, and I don't think it has fully recovered, even now."_

_Naruto shook her head, straining her voice to speak, but first she coughed, a hacking cough; blood spattered, staining Kiba's hands as they lay on her stomach, and staining her own clothes. Sakura's eyes widened in worry, and she ushered Kiba out of the room as her hands lit with chakra-_

_"Sakura-chan..."_

_"Naruto, we need-"_

_"Sasuke... where's Sasuke?"_

_"Naruto, it's-"_

_"Where is _Sasuke?!_"_

* * *

Of all the days Naruto had spent in the missing nin archives, she hadn't found a scrap of information on Sasuke.

Natural, of course, she told herself; what source reports on a supposedly dead missing-nin?

That was why there was not hide nor hair of him in any report, in any archive. Not a single scrap of evidence.

Naruto was heading for Gaara first.

She wondered whether to take a detour through Amegakure, instead of passing through the Land of Rivers. So she did. The day faded to night, as Naruto ran through trees, and she wondered whether Tsunade had sent anyone after her.

She doubted it a little.


	7. Day 7

_Day 7_

* * *

Naruto started to travel one again. She estimated another day of travel until Amegakure.

She stopped at a river, and washed her face, wiping sleep out of her eyes. After a moment's thought, she stripped her clothes and bathed; the water was freezing, but it woke her up a bit.

Naruto travelled again. In the distance, she saw Amegakure. She slept again.


	8. Day 8

_Day 8_

* * *

The town was empty, and Naruto wished she'd never came.

She hadn't known what she'd expected, really. And she'd never came here in the first place. This had been Jiraiya's final battleground.

Amegakure was famed for its large metal workings. It was an industrial look, but now, all Naruto could see of the famous towers were their frames; it became quickly obvious that in the midst of the evacuation – as the population were graciously accepted into and evacuated into the Land of Iron – thieves had ravaged the metal constructions for their worth. Even now, it appeared no one had returned, and the ghost town was making Naruto feel anxious.

That, but the tallest tower. Every piece of expensive metal had been robbed, but Amegakure's tallest tower was untouched. It had been said to be home to Pain.

Nagato and Konan. Even now, Naruto's heart ached for them.

She found herself walking towards that tower, and as she reached it, Naruto saw that though the metal was indeed bizarre; it was shiny and flawless, and perhaps that had been why it had been craved by the people who had ransacked the town. With the constant rain, the metal had never oxidised; it must have been specially treated, or been a rare sort of metal.

But no one had dared touch the tower of Pain, for his legacy.

Naruto was tentative when she grasped the metal outline of the door – after all, there may have been good reason for its abandonment – but the door did nothing but squawk as she awkwardly pulled it open. One hinge was cracked, and the door was heavy, but it didn't fall off as she opened it.

Inside, lay a mass of stairs, some missing and cracked. The place was littered with paper, and empty, and completely dark. Naruto left the door open, but upwards looked dark nonetheless. Without paying much attention, she walked upwards, and a step would break every so often. Her walk escalated into a careful, delicate run, and she was spinning upwards, and then she heard-

Naruto heard the steps crack behind her, and they were collapsing behind her, she ran faster-

She reached the top, and it was a sparse floor, but with the windows, she could see- see all around her, the floor was shaking a little but Naruto saw-

Naruto could see the vast expanse of the abandoned town, its ravaged buildings and constructs; she could see the forestry she'd traversed, and in the distance she could see the scorching desert.

The emptiness struck her.

Children had grown up in Amegakure. It was a town, filled with memories of people who had both lived and died and yet here, what? What lay here? Buildings; Naruto wondered whether people had had chance to pick up their belongings before they had ran to a land of peace to escape from a land of war.

Nagato had spoken of the war Amegakure had suffered. In the midst of three shinobi nations, they'd had no peace from it, and children had been orphaned, killed without rhyme nor reason. War. It seemed Amegakure had never been free from it.

The town was so empty. Nagato had entrusted her a legacy – but she still didn't, she still couldn't –

Where was peace?

Amegakure had been free of the rain for years now, but as Naruto looked out onto the empty wasteland of Amegakure, a drop of water fell from the sky all the same.


	9. Day 9

_Day 9_

* * *

Naruto reached the desert that day, and she walked.


	10. Day 10

_Day 10_

* * *

And she walked. She slept, wearing her spare clothes for extra warmth. The desert winds were ruthless, and she prayed no sandstorm would come. None did.


	11. Day 11

_Day 11_

* * *

Her canteen was dry when, in the night, she finally reached the sedimentary walls of Sunagakure. The guards were delighted upon her arrival – well, one of them was.

"Hi... y'know, is Gaara around? I'll see him in the morning if I have to..."

A stern looking guard approached her first. "State your identity and intentions," he said, tone unwavering, and Naruto rolled her eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto-"

"No way. No _way!_" a younger guard said, bouncing up behind the taller guard. "Yugari, do you _see_ that!? I can't- Uzumaki Naruto-sama! _War legend! _How are you still standing? Her presence is _immense!_"

Naruto blinked, blushing. She waved. "Uh, yo."

The younger guard gasped.

"Yugari. Are you seeing this?" he whispered, awestruck.

Yugari brought a firm hand sharply to the back of the young boy's head. "Shut up, Han. We've yet to identify her."

The boy looked crestfallen, but his admiration persevered. "Her aura of graceful strength is evidence enough!"

Naruto blushed. _'Graceful. Huh... that's the first time someone's called me that.'_

"So? Do you have identification?" Yugari said, unyielding.

_ 'Shit.'_

"Uh," Naruto said, biting her lip, "Possibly not."

"I'll vouch for her."

The two guards turned around quickly. "Oh... Kazekage-sama!"

Gaara smiled slightly, nodding at Naruto. "Good to see you, Naruto."

"Gaara!"

He struggled not to fall to the floor under the sudden assault of her hug. The two guards stood with slack jaws, blinking at the woman. Han stood on his tiptoes to whisper into Yugari's ear. "Such bravery," he whispered. "You'd never see another woman do tha-"

"Shut _up,_ Han."

"It's been so long, Gaara," Naruto said, smiling. "How has it been on your end?"

Gaara nodded, and turned to one of the guards. "Please prepare a diplomats guest room for her."

"Y-Yes!"

Han scurried off, and Gaara motioned for Naruto to follow him as he entered the village.

Naruto noted that the buildings were bigger. Sunagakure had only flourished under Gaara's rule, and it had remained favourable in all trade networks; especially with Konohagakure. But even so, Naruto would never understand how someone could feel comfortable in a desert. The nights were too cold, and the days too hot.

"So," she began. "Why are you awake? Thought you could sleep now."

Gaara walked slowly, calmly. He was always calm, now; it put Naruto at ease.

"The night is peaceful," he said, looking at the stars. "Sometimes, I prefer it."

"I must've bothered you."

Gaara shook his head. "It's fine. What is it?"

"What's what?" Naruto said, laughing slightly. It was forced.

Gaara stared blankly at her, and she laughed again.

"I... I was wondering if you had any intel."

Gaara began to ascend the stairs to his office. He was quiet for a moment.

"He's still not turned up?"

His voice echoed in the narrow stairwell, and Naruto began to fill with dread.

"So... so you haven't found anything?"

Gaara's hesitation confirmed her fears, and she bit her lip.

"Sorry... I guess I should've sent a bird or something first..." Naruto said, biting her lip and blinking back tears.

He pushed open the door to his office, and turned on the light. Gaara turned to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll contact my sources. Stay in Suna for a few days."

"Kazekage-sama, it's ready. May I show her to her room?"

Gaara nodded. "I will see you tomorrow, Naruto."

Naruto nodded hesitantly, as Han lead her along a long hallway beside the office. He smiled up at her with stars in his eyes.

"We don't have any diplomats expected for a few weeks, so I assigned you the best room, Uzumaki-sama!" Han said, smile wide as he strode forward to the final room in the hallway. "I even asked the maids to quickly give it a once over just for you."

"Just Naruto, if you don't mind," Naruto said, scratching the side of her face. "And you didn't have to..."

"Nonsense! You saved all of our lives, Uzu-um, Naruto-san," Han babbled. "You deserve the best of everything!"

"I didn't _really_-"

Han opened the door to the room with a flourish, and Naruto's jaw went slack.

It was far bigger than the apartment she'd lived in her whole life. The hallway she was in was bigger than her bedroom alone.

"Kazekage-sama will see you in the morning! Someone will come collect you, so you don't need to worry. Goodnight!"

And Naruto found herself alone in a very large apartment. She switched on the lights hesitantly, peering down the hallway. The living room was huge, with big, comfy couches, with a couple of elegant lampshades on end tables. The kitchen was too large, suited for all the complex dishes Naruto would never make; the fridge was filled with high quality food, and she found a balcony, viewing over the village. It was a beautiful view, but one that made her long for Konoha; there was so little colour in Sunagakure.

Then came her bedroom, and when she opened the door, she gasped in delight. The beds, pillows, and curtains were all donned in a singed orange. With every ounce of energy she had, Naruto yanked off her clothes and threw herself onto the bedcovers. She didn't even climb under the blankets before she fell asleep.


	12. Day 12

** A/N: Baby chapter. Wrote it a while ago. Decided to drop it in. Like a bird. Cacaw. Bye.**

* * *

_Tenketsu: Day 12_

* * *

"N-Naruto-san! Are you awake?"

_'Ugh... this kid doesn't understand what an acceptable hour is,'_ Naruto decided, looking at the clock and reading 9. She yawned, striding out of bed and pulling on a (wonderfully orange!) dressing gown from the back of the door. She walked to the apartment door, opening it to the same, young ninja as yesterday.

"Mm?"

"Sorry to wake you so early," Han said, "But Kazekage-sama requested you."

Naruto rubbed her eyes, and scratched her head. "It's only down the hall, isn't it? Is this alright?" She pulled at her dressing gown.

"Perhaps you should get dressed," Han said hesitantly, smiling at her. "You might be given a tour around the village, after all..."

Naruto nodded, holding a finger up to the young boy as she walked into her bedroom. She walked into the en suite, showering quickly and brushing her teeth, before leaving and throwing on an orange vest top and black pants.

She pulled her hair into a bun, and frowned at her reflection, before hurrying out into the hall. The boy beside her chatted animatedly, but Naruto was too tired to properly listen.

Gaara, sat at the desk in Kage attire, was a strange thing to see. '_At least he's not wearing the hat...'_

The boy looked up, smiling at Naruto, and motioning for her to sit down.

"Konoha have already sent me a messenger bird, asking for you," Gaara said, not looking up from his paperwork as he said so.

"Yeah... didn't really tell anyone."

"I can tell."

Naruto bit her cheek, and felt her right arm relax. The past few days, the tenketsu either hadn't had an effect or hadn't been anywhere important. Today, her right arm was the one letting her down.

"Gaara, I have something to tell you," Naruto said, and he looked up from his work and placed the ink pen in the pot. Gaara's undivided attention on her made her shift uncomfortably, and perhaps he sensed this; he directed his gaze to outside.

"I," she began, but her throat choked on her and she had to start again. "I'm dying, Gaara."

His eyes closed, and before he could ask anything, Naruto spoke again. "Incurable illness. I have around a year."

Gaara was silent, his expression conflicted. It was something Naruto had not seen on his face often.

"I suppose there is no point me offering medical research," he said. "Not when Tsunade is your Hokage."

Naruto shook her head, staring down into her lap. She felt a little dead already.

Gaara was silent still, and then he spoke. "I cannot offer you medical support," he said. "But I am here. If... If you ever require me, or somewhere to stay, I will keep your current room for you."

"Oh, Gaara, you shouldn-"

"I won't lose that room forever," he said, and his voice was so low it was almost like a whisper. "Keep it for now, Naruto."

Naruto hated telling people this. Naruto hated having to tell people the truth.

It would have been easier to lie.

"Naruto," he said. "May I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have an estimate? A date?"

_'A death date,_' Naruto thought grimly._ 'An expiry date.'_

"Yeah," Naruto said. "April 29th. Why... why'd ya ask?"

Gaara had his eyes closed, even now. "April 29th... I'll be there."

"You don't have to- your village_ needs _you."

"It's one day, and we're at perfect peace at the moment," Gaara said, and he stood up from his chair, walking over to Naruto. He knelt down, staring her in the eyes.

"I'm... it must feel terrible," he said, and his eyes – Naruto didn't want to stare into them for fear she'd burst into tears – his words were too honest. "I'm sorry. If I can help you at all... if there's anything I can do for you, tell me."

"No," Naruto said, and she smiled. Tears began to fall. "No... it's kinda cool, really. At least... at least things are how I wanted them. Everyone knows who I am... it's like my dreams have all come true."

_'Except, that's not what you want anymore,'_ Gaara almost said.

Gaara had seen Naruto, after the war. It was a pathetic sight. Even with the multitude of titles thrown on her, he'd never seen her look so sad. And even now, the pain hadn't been alleviated; it appeared to have come back with a vengeance, but perhaps that was how it was. Naruto must have been taking her time in the ideal that she had many years to waste, but now-

"I just want him to come home, Gaara," she said, and her tone was so wistful that Gaara couldn't bear to look at her for a second longer.

There was nothing worse than a missing ninja. Undoubtedly dead, but not enough evidence to bring peace to the loved ones. Sasuke was dead; everyone knew, but not Naruto. It didn't help that she was usually an optimist anyway.

Seeing her like this was painful.

Gaara wrote to every single source that he could safely access.

After encryption, they were sent off, a flock of mighty birds soaring through the sky.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Han shows Naruto around the village. She takes in the information politely, but her mind is with the birds.

As Naruto examines the lustrous lack of green in Suna, she wonders about the meadow.

The night that comes is bitingly cold.


End file.
